1 B2 idiomatic informal
To make something more sexually attractive or appealing.
"The marketing team sexed up the product packaging to appeal to a younger audience."
separable
sex up
B2 informal separable transitive
To make something more exciting, appealing, or sexually attractive, often through exaggeration or manipulation.
In plain English
To make something look more exciting or important than it really is, or to make it more sexually attractive.
What does "sex up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B2 idiomatic informal
To exaggerate or sensationalise something, especially a report or document, to make it seem more significant or dramatic.
"Critics accused the news channel of sexing up the story to attract more viewers."
“
The dossier had been 'sexed up' to make the case for war.
— BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan, referring to the UK Government's Iraq dossier, May 2003 (source of the 'Hutton Inquiry').
separable
Usage tip
Gained widespread attention in British English when used in the 'Hutton Inquiry' (2003) in the phrase 'sexed-up dossier', referring to the UK government allegedly exaggerating intelligence on Iraq. This political sense — to exaggerate or sensationalise — is now well established alongside the older sense of making something sexually appealing.
Words that pair with "sex up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
dossier report image product content design
How to conjugate "sex up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
sex up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
sexes up
he/she/it
Past simple
sexed up
yesterday
Past participle
sexed up
have + pp
-ing form
sexing up
continuous
Hear "sex up" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "sex up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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